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Animal environments
of the African Elephant]] showing the bird Larus marinus's range and breeding grounds]] A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits") is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species.Dickinson, C.I. 1963. British Seaweeds. The Kew SeriesAbercrombie, M., Hickman, C.J. and Johnson, M.L. 1966.A Dictionary of Biology. Penguin Reference Books, London It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds (influences and is utilized by) a species population. The term "species population" is preferred to "organism" because, while it is possible to describe the habitat of a single black bear, we may not find any particular or individual bear but the grouping of bears that comprise a breeding population and occupy a certain biogeographical area. Further, this habitat could be somewhat different from the habitat of another group or population of black bears living elsewhere. Thus it is neither the species nor the individual for which the term habitat is typically used. A microhabitat is a physical location that is home to very small creatures, such as woodlice. Microenvironment is the immediate surroundings and other physical factors of an individual plant or animal within its habitat. Habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits") is the place where a particular species lives and grows. It is essentially the environment—at least the physical environment—that surrounds (influences and is utilized by) a species population. We use "species population" instead of "organism" here because, while it is possible to describe the habitat of a single black bear, we generally mean not any particular or individual bear, but the grouping of bears that comprise a breeding population and occupy a certain geographical area. Further, this habitat could be somewhat different from the habitat of another group or population of black bears living elsewhere. Thus, it is neither the species, nor the individual, for which the term habitat is typically used. A microhabitat or microenvironment is the immediate surroundings and other physical factors of an individual plant or animal within its habitat. However, the term "habitat" can be used more broadly in ecology. It was originally defined as the physical conditions that surround a species, or species population, or assemblage of species, or community (Clements and Shelford, 1939). Thus, it is not just a species population that has a habitat, but an assemblage of many species, living together in the same place that essentially share a habitat. Ecologists would regard the habitat shared by many species to be a biotope. Habitat destruction is a major factor in causing a species population to decrease, eventually leading to its being endangered, or even to its extinction. A biome is the set of flora and fauna which live in a habitat and occupy a certain geography. ----- See also *Animal captivity *Animal rearing *Biome *Community (ecology) *Ecology *Ecosystems *Human habitat *Natural environment *Place conditioning *Single sex environments *Terrestrial ecozone References & Bibliography Key texts Books Papers Additional material Books Papers *Google Scholar Further reading *Clements, Frederic E., and Victor E. Shelford. 1939. Bio-ecology. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 425 pp. * Social Production of Habitat External links Category:Animal environments Category:Habitats Category:Systems ecology Category:Social environmnets